In 1967, the Alianza Federal de Mercedes, an organization dedicated to the restoration of Spanish and Mexican land grants, occupied Echo Amphitheater, an area of the forest in an attempt to recreate a historic land grant community. The occupants were evicted for overstaying camping permits. In 1982, the forest grew by 405 square kilometers (100,000 acres) when the Pennzoil corporation donated the Valle Vidal Unit to the American people.